Southwater One Library

Telford Council has taken an inspirational approach to town centre development
with a stunning community hub at the heart of the new Southwater landscape. Opening the Book was
first appointed by Mace to work with the architects, structural
engineers, project managers, landscape architects, mechanical and electrical
designers at Stages A-E of the planned new building.

12 months' detailed work,
through many different versions, resulted in an interior design and a full specification
for all furniture and fittings agreed with the client. It was hugely valuable to be
in at the early stages of discussion so we could match the interior design to the
aspirations of both the council and the dramatic building design. We also
influenced some key aspects - for example ensuring a step-free route for buggies
into the first floor library from the park.

Six months later the building was going up fast and we were invited to tender for the supply and installation; we were appointed in September 2013 as sub-contractors to Morgan Sindall. Three years on from our first involvement, the building opened in the summer of in 2014 to tremendous acclaim.

Ground floor shared area

The room sets with rugs and sofas create little oases to relax in while the Books to Go displays tempt quick visitors. The space merges with the Costa Coffee and everyone is encouraged to take coffee to other floors if they wish. We integrated theatre brochures in the offer when selling theatre tickets was added to the services provided.

SW1 is a good example of how we continue to work with our customers after a project is completed. We opened with two First Point Advice pods on the ground floor but after a year, the council took a decision to increase the self-service offer. We remodelled to include a self-service pc bar and four private self-service booths. We were able to continue the new-style approach by designing the booths with special LED illuminated panels and hiding all the cables to give a light, floating impression very different from the traditional enclosed booth.

“It’s been great working with Opening the Book on this project – we
have enjoyed the debate, discussion and creative process and have
always felt that we were in the safe hands of a professional team
focussed on helping to deliver our vision.”

Sharon Smith, Library Service Delivery Manager

Library Floor

A mix of print and digital resources -
fantastic book displays, computers and
tablets, state of the art digi-tables, lots
of power to plug in your own devices.

Flexible event spaces - sofas for
reading groups, wall projections for
movies and presentations, space for
workshops and a wonderful storytime
space. And the library has already
programmed a poet and haka dancing
on the outside terrace.

Areas for different kinds of use -
chatting, reflecting, reading.

Areas for different audiences - under
5s, 5-11s, teenagers, adults, seniors,
families , no hard boundaries, each
area flows into the next.

First Point Floor

Is this the most stylish and friendly
council customer service ever? Gone are
the enclosed booths, the rows of
check-in desks , the sense of being
corralled and controlled. Instead there is
a great airy space with views in all
directions. It's easy to see where to go
with the clear colour coding.

Instead of enclosing people in, angles in
the space are cleverly used to give more
privacy. Lovely sofas are positioned to
make it pleasant while you wait your turn.
Slatted screens give a more open feel to
the outside of the advice pods and
matching acoustic screens give more
privacy between adjacent desks. You can
wander through the space with a coffee
while you wait, glance up at the screens
to see when your turn approaches or
listen out for the audio announcements
which call you forward.

Contact Us

Get in touch to find out more about our designs, training, furniture and reader-centred projects.